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Mercer First World War memorial

Pioneer gun turret and war memorial, corner Roose Rd and Riverbank Rd, Mercer. Situated on the banks of the Waikato River, the First World War memorial, which was unveiled on 28 April 1922, consists of the statue of a soldier in marching kit mounted on a turret taken from the gunboat Pioneer, which plied the river during the Waikato War. Before being incorporated in the memorial the turret had done duty as a police lock-up.

The Pioneer, a paddle-steamer, was the first naval vessel built for the New Zealand government. Along with its sister vessels it was a key element in the British invasion of Waikato in 1863/4. Armoured ships could reconnoitre and transport men past Māori defensive positions. Its two iron turrets each protected a 12-pounder Armstrong gun and provided loopholes for small-arms fire.

There is a Mercer First World War roll of honour in the Tūākau War Memorial Hall. The three-part wooden tablet was constructed for the Mercer School committee and other citizens of Mercer. It is uncertain whether it originally hung in the school or in the old Mercer hall. About 2000, it was found in a tip, restored, and placed in the Tūākau hall for safekeeping.

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Find out more about the people listed on this memorial on the Auckland Museum’s Cenotaph website

How to cite this page

'Mercer First World War memorial ', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/mercer-first-world-war-memorial, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 16-Dec-2014

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Stuart Park

Posted: 22 Jun 2015

The statue of the soldier at Mercer was sculpted from Sydney sandstone by William Henry Feldon (1872-1945), who also sculpted the memorial statues at Helensville and Matakana. (Auckland Star, 27 March 1922, p.4)

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